Gathering of Flowers
by L.Simpsonjazzgirl
Summary: AU. As part of a deal, Lisa marries Fat Tony's son Michael but learns she is not alone to self-sacrifice in the name of ambition and family. When they unexpectedly fall in love & build a successful empire together, they struggle against rivals & jealous exes. Meanwhile, Maggie secretly works at a shady bar to figure out what she wants in life...and finds herself in a love triangle.


**Author's notes:** Welcome! I really hope you will enjoy my fanfic. I have actually been away from fanfic writing for several years and have only just gotten back into it, so please excuse me if some things don't match up properly or whatnot. I already have the entire story figured out, as I've had this idea for over one year now…so please, please, PLEASE leave me a review, preferably for each chapter if you can! This way, I will know if there is any actual interest in my fanfic for me to finish it.

Many other characters will also be making significant appearances later on. They include (and are not limited to), in no particular order:  
\- Michael D'Amico (Fat Tony's son)  
\- Fat Tony  
\- Johnny Tightlips  
\- Anna Maria (Fat Tony's late wife)  
\- Sideshow Bob and his son Gino  
\- Cecil Terwilliger  
\- Nelson Muntz  
\- Gerald Sampson  
\- Snake and his son Jeremy  
\- Jessica Lovejoy  
\- Bart Simpson  
\- Ling Bouvier (Selma's adopted daughter; cousin to Bart, Lisa, and Maggie)  
\- Allison Taylor

Thank you, and enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 1: _Secrets  
_**

Maggie looked up into the wide blue sky as she listened to the roaring sounds of nearby planes taking flight. Soon these giant, man-made machines of aerodynamics would be reduced to nothing more than tiny ornamental kites in the sky. She chuckled to herself as she puffed her cigarette. Smoking always put her in a philosophical mood. It was amazing to see that even the best of mankind's technology could not overtake the formidable vastness of the natural world.

There were very few clouds today. It had always scared her as a child that the sky seemed so deep and eternal - she felt so insignificant as she envisioned herself standing on the earth against such an open sky. She and her sister Lisa both shared this little quirk...Bart had never paid attention to the poetic aspects of Mother Nature...but Maggie also remembered how safe and relieved she felt when Lisa would hold her hand as they both stared up at the sky. She smiled as she remembered the summers of yesteryears, lying down on the grass with her brother and sister as they rested from playing outside.

The beeping of her watch awakened Maggie from her daydream, and she stomped out her smoke before she headed inside. It always took a good fifteen minutes until the baggage were received. This was not her first time picking up Lisa from the airport.

"Maggie!" A demure figure approached from the blurring crowd.

Maggie extended her arms as she ran towards her sister. "Welcome home, Lisa. I've missed you!"

After their hug, Lisa looked around. "Where are the others? You're not the only one picking me up again, are you?"

Maggie took one of Lisa's duffel bags as they walked out to the parking lot. "Bart's been working overtime these days, nearly twelve hours each day or so. Mom's also at work. It's too bad she was scheduled to work today; she really wanted to come with me to pick you up. How have you been? I'm so glad you're back, you deserve a good long break!"

Lisa smiled at her little sister. "Actually, I'm not really here on vacation. I've come to discuss with a potential business partner regarding a start-up company, possibly working with the city."

"Business partner? Here? Well, somehow I have a hard time believing that anybody in Springfield is literate enough to be worth your time." laughed Maggie.

"Oh, Maggie," giggled Lisa. "Actually, it's not a stranger. It's Cecil Terwilliger, Sideshow Bob's younger brother. You know – the _less_ insane one of the bunch. We sort of kept in touch after my volunteer hours with the prison."

Maggie slightly froze up at the mention of Sideshow Bob's name. "Oh. I – I didn't even know Bob had a younger brother." She tried to keep her cool. "And you are sure that he's 'less' crazy than the older one?"

Lisa loaded up her stuff into the trunk of the car. "He and I first kinda 'bonded' after I foiled his ill-conceived plan of trying to kill Bart and myself so that he could one-up his brother. You were a baby back then, so of course you won't remember. But in high school, I was volunteering at the prison because they badly needed any volunteers they could get…and then he helped me with my chemistry project by funding me with his prison dollars for the local science competition…which of course, turned out to be a bust," she trailed off as she remembered 'that day'. It had been almost ten years, but much to her chagrin, she could not help but still feel the bitterness from losing unfairly to a rival. "Anyway, he's actually a pretty sane person…who's had a few mental setbacks." Lisa admitted dryly.

"Guess the 'Revolving Door syndrome' was just a myth, hey?" joked Maggie. But deep inside, she felt a little uneasy that Lisa had such a close connection to the Terwilligers. It was not the fact that Lisa was friends with an ex-prisoner – Maggie actually thought that was rather cool of her otherwise boring sister – but a relative of that megalomania of a Bob Terwilliger was another matter. And his weird, eccentric son of his from school who never stopped staring at her. Maggie was itching for another cigarette when suddenly –

"Ugh. What is that stench? Smells like Aunt Patty and Selma's," Lisa grimaced as she settled in the passenger seat. "Are they over at our house today?" She added rather disappointedly.

"Well…no, not really." Maggie anxiously replied. She was hoping the cigarette smells had been extinguished by her "stripper-sweet" perfume. Stupid cheap ass perfume…even though it was a gift from her boyfriend, and she had cherished it dearly until now. "So how was Darfur this year, Lisa?" She hurriedly digressed.

Lisa looked out the car window as they passed along the streets. "It was fine. We dug two new wells for one of the villages close to the western border area. We also finally finished one of the major schoolhouses in Geneina – you remember – the one I drew the blueprint for three years ago."

Maggie did not remember, but she nodded anyway. "That's awesome!" She really could not think of anything else to say.

They drove on in silence for a while, until Lisa finally spoke again. "How is Dad doing?" It was as if she had been afraid to ask before.

Maggie stifled a sigh before replying. "He's doing great. Improved so much since the last time you saw him. You don't have to worry, Lisa." Not to mention the impending hospital bills, and that damned threatening letter from the IRS. She turned on the radio to drown out her anxiety. Maggie quickly glanced at her sister. Mom had said never to let Lisa know about it. Would she catch on?

Fortunately for Maggie, Lisa was still gazing meditatively out the window. The town had changed very little since she had left home – in fact, there had been so few changes that many of the buildings were now shabby and timeworn. There was, however, one particular complex that seemed to have been recently built. It stood out from the rest of the dilapidating scenery.

"Why on earth is there an office building here in the middle of such a wasteland?" inquired Lisa, as she studied its clean white walls and the tall frames of windows.

"I think they're finally turning this place around. I can't remember who, but some rich guy bought most of the land titles here and other parts of Springfield. They're probably going to try and turn this dump into a town that matters," Maggie droned on in a preoccupied voice. She was more into the radio music than city affairs.

Lisa meant to ask more questions, but seeing how Maggie was only half-present in the conversation, she let it pass and continued to watch the passing streets. She was glad to see the rows of flowers and shrubs that had been planted along the streets by her high school Environmental Club was still around; they brightened up the old, drab surroundings with their cheery, youthful glint of green, white, and yellow.

As the family station wagon drove on, a large, intimidating man walked around from the corner and admired the same rows of flowers. Even after years of living a gruff life of organized crime and underworld businesses, Fat Tony never stopped appreciating the simple beauties of nature. Even he could not deny that they were more beautiful than a briefcase full of fresh, unmarked bills or a custom, hand-crafted submachine gun – but work was another matter. He continued onto the complex and gazed up at his stately, new building before stepping inside the pristine floors.

It had taken several painful years to plan and design this – and finally, a portion of his dreams had been solidified into material reality. Of course, the real goal behind all this was still out of reach. Though much progress had been made, time was nonetheless a merciless force and Fat Tony knew that his body and mind would only grow older – and weaker. He went up the stairs and examined the second floor, where the rest of the cubicles would be, and eventually reached the third floor where it was laid out for larger rooms and other offices. He entered the main conference room of the building where the table and chairs were already set up and polished; the varnish of the paint catching the reflection of natural light. Out the surrounding panoramic windows revealed a marvelous, sprawling view of the Springfield skyline in a backdrop of deep, deciduous mountains.

The footsteps from behind broke his reverie. "You're early as usual," he spoke without turning around. "How are you, Johnny Tightlips?"

As expected, the latter did not reply, but instead he walked up beside Fat Tony facing the windows. "The boys have outdone themselves on this one." he commented.

"Indeed." Fat Tony turned around and sat down in one of the chairs. With Johnny Tightlips, minced words were never needed. The latter placed down the folders he had been carrying before Fat Tony, and it was straight to business talk from there.

"You think Michael will show up today?" asked Fat Tony after a while. He contrived to sound casual, but Johnny could not be fooled. He glanced up before focusing back on the pile of documents. "Hard to say," he replied, adjusting his glasses a bit, "Now that he's shacking up with that Lovejoy girl again, it seems he has more than a handful to deal with."

Fat Tony grimaced as he took out a cigar. "So much for those four years in Jersey. He certainly hasn't outgrown his foolish thirst for debauchery." He then looked rather resentfully at Johnny. "I thought you said he was excelling in his studies. Magna cum laude and all that! What bullshit!" Fat Tony banged the table with his fist to retain his growing anger.

Johnny Tightlips did not even flinch. He flipped to the next page of the clipboard he was holding. "But it's one thing being book smart, and a whole other thing being street smart. Lovejoy is a crafty little minx. Didn't you see this coming when she lent us the money?" Johnny took off his glasses and looked straight into Fat Tony's glaring eyes. "Michael's got a weakness for the ladies. _You _understand, don't you?"

It seemed like a backhanded remark enough, but Fat Tony decided to let it go, as he was too emotionally tired to acknowledge Johnny's grudge. He had not wanted to deal with that girl again, but unbeknownst to Johnny Tightlips, Fat Tony had been low on funds to secure the land sales to build this complex. Revenue had decreased ever since the closing down of some 'businesses' he used to run – it was all part of his grand plan that only few of his men knew about. But it did make sense that his son should not inherit the family fortune and all of Tony's possessions of both intangible and material nature – without also inheriting his flaws. A pretty woman was more dangerous than a game of Russian roulette, he was once told. At least with a gun, you either end up alive or dead in that one moment. With a girl, it was hook, line, and sinker for life – or at least until whenever she decides to throw you away.

He cleared his throat as several more men then entered the room. "Hey boss, this place is killer! I'm impressed over here with those guys from over there!" admired Louie as he walked around the room, looking out the windows. "You can see our old headquarters from over here. Neat!" observed Legs. The other men murmured excitedly in agreement.

Fat Tony stood up and extended his arms. "Gentlemen, I am truly happy that you have come today for our first 'official' meeting. I apologize that I do not have adequate refreshments and other welcoming delicacies, for as you see, the interior is not fully furnished yet. But I would like to invite all of you to my home after the meeting to properly celebrate the _birth_ of our corporation." The men cheered in unison as they settled down in their seats. More men arrived, some with their sons who were also involved in the business, but his own son was still yet to be seen. Fat Tony glanced at his phone before deciding against calling him.

Later in the evening, Fat Tony excused himself from his company and snuck into his private study. There was a light flashing on his desk phone. It was a voice message left by Michael, clearly inebriated and disoriented from whatever substance he had indulged on from earlier in the day. Fat Tony growled and knocked off several things from his desk in a careless moment of anger. That girl was an awful influence on him – Michael himself had even admitted once – but here he was hooked on her again, like a failed stint at rehab. He needed something to break Michael off from this toxic pattern; a new hobby or a new source of influence. But from where? Clearly, four years at an out-of-state school had done nothing for him, except to reunite him with his off-and-on girlfriend afterwards. Fat Tony gave a defeated sigh as he bent down to pick up the mess he made. Amidst the strewn documents, folders, and magazines was today's newspaper which he had not read yet. Fat Tony never liked to miss the daily news, no matter how mundane they were. He skimmed through the headlines. "Locally renowned girl returns home to make good yet again." Fat Tony recognized the name as he continued to read.

Meanwhile, a very nervous girl at the Simpsons house sat down to dinner with her family that night.

"What's wrong, Lisa?" asked Marge as she set down a plate for her daughter.

Lisa glanced down at her phone once more before setting it aside. "I just can't seem to reach Cecil. I've tried calling him several times earlier today, but he's still not answering. I wonder if something has happened to him."

Maggie exchanged a furtive look with Bart across the table. "He's probably just busy with other things. I mean, people _do_ have dinner 'round this time of the hour, you know." Secrets. So damn many of them to keep.

She then remembered herself what time it was. With one swift movement, she downed her entire glass of milk before getting up and announced, "Mom, I'll be excused for a second. I have to go to the…bathroom." Without waiting for an answer, Maggie went to her room, much to the confusion of Marge and Lisa. After a while, Bart came upstairs to her room as well.

"Well?" Maggie demanded as she glared at her brother, who sat himself down on a nearby chair.

Bart looked somber as he pulled out a crumbled envelope and held it out. "It includes what I earned today." he said.

Maggie pounced on the envelope and hastily counted the contents inside. She looked up, aghast. "This isn't enough!" She pulled out her backpack and took out her own wallet. "Even with my pay, it will barely cover the cost. Ugh. I hope this Cecil person doesn't have anything to do with Bob's loansharking scheme."

Bart continued to look down at his shoes. "I also think I might get fired again."

She stopped counting the money. "That doesn't make sense. You just passed your 3-month training. How does that happen so soon?"

"Apparently I demolished the 'wrong' building today. Supposed to be owned by one of the crime families here. The boss was pretty mad…though that's a bit of an understatement." He sighed.

Maggie placed the bills neatly back into the envelope before slipping into her backpack. "I'm sure you'll be fine," she spoke absent-mindedly. "The mafia aren't _so_ terrible. Sure, they _do_ a lot of terrible stuff, but they're not as 'scary' as you'd think."

"What makes you so confident about that?" queried Bart suspiciously. "You think these goons for Bob aren't so 'terrible'? You must be smoking some bad – "

"Just help me think of an excuse for us to go out tonight, Bart. We gotta keep Mom and Lisa in the dark." She sighed. "I have a bag of 'treasure' that might excuse our lack of cash."

Later that night, Bart and Maggie drove down to the Waterfront district, where they walked the rest of the way to an old warehouse. A dark figure approached from the shadows. "Simpson?"

Maggie held out the envelope, and tried out her toughest voice. "Sorry buddy, but I'm a little short this week. I got something that might even out the balance though, so hold your breath."

The hoodie-clad goon snorted with a contemptuous laugh. "You really think you got somethin' worthwhile? Just tryin' to buy your way out, aren't you?" He started to sound angry.

Maggie took out a Ziploc bag full of white powder. Bart stared wide-mouthed at his little sister, but she could not see his shocked expression in the darkness. "This is at least _three grand_ right here. Enjoy your new powdered currency." She turned away to walk back with Bart when the guy suddenly grabbed her shoulder.

"You still owe us the rest, Simpson! Don't forget the 100% daily interest either."

Maggie tried to break away from his grip. "When was that part of the deal!? Let go!"

Bart stepped in and shoved him back. "Don't touch my sister, you fucking creep!" They started to fight when suddenly, a group of police officers appeared from the corners.

"Put your hands up!" screamed one of the cops as they surrounded the trio. "You have the right to remain silent. Put your hands up where I can see 'em!" He motioned with his gun.

Maggie reluctantly raised her arms as she squinted from the blaring lights of the oncoming police cruisers.

* * *

**End of Chapter 1.**

**_Notes:_  
** \- Cecil Terwilliger and Lisa really _did_ have a lively interaction in the Simpsons comic "_Sideshow Sibling Showdown_" (2012) by Bongo Comics.

* * *

**Next Chapter:** _Bar Fight and a Proposal  
_


End file.
